Already! Our sweet Sander is one. He is such a sensitive little guy and so active. He can't decide if he wants to be held all the time or crawl and scale walls. He has been walking holding into things and getting around quite well. Sander has been doing yoga down dogs and looking between his legs while laughing hysterically. This is definitely my favorite trick of his. It is even better when his sister joins in and we all hurt from laughing afterward. While there are no new exact words such as his "Da-Da" and "Ma-Ma" he has been saying "Deh" and pointing to the dogs when they are around. It is pretty cute.
He weighs in at 15 pounds 6 ounces and is 29" tall. Long and lean!
Lucy had just gotten over the chicken pox just in time for Sander's 1st birthday bash. Nono and Pop-pop came up to celebrate. We had a good time.
Mama and the birthday boy.
Dada and the birthday boy with sun in his eyes.
These two!
Nono and Pop-Pop
Lucy spent some time pulling Sander around in a sled in the yard. He giggled and love it. They even went downhill.
Always tapping on things these days.
A pull-bunny from mom and dad.
Proud Bob-Bob and Lyn-Lyn
Playing put-the-rock-in-the-hole together. This actually lasted about ten minutes!
This face is so easy to love. Sander has a gentle spirit and a happy heart and he feels things very strongly. There are so many new things to report. Sander is signing now for milk, dog (this is his favorite), and sometimes for "more" food. In fact any animal brings out an excited panting for Sander - it could be a stuffed dinosaur or a bird in the sky - nonetheless he is happy to share his admiration.
Each time we get ready to get out of the car at home he starts panting as soon as I motion to get him out of the car seat because the dog pen is right nearby. He is standing for a couple of seconds at a time without holding onto anything! There are also so many happy new sounds and squeals. His mimicking skills are hilariously good.
This was Sander's first time hanging out outside while capable of crawling and in warm weather. It actually slowed him down because there was so much to look at and touch.
Sander is waving to Lucy who is up the hill. He waves quite a bit these days.
Just a few days prior to Sander turning 11 months old, Lucy celebrated her 4th birthday. Sander was one of the only attendees to proudly wear his hat for the longest period of time!
Sander got a his first shiner just in time for his ten-month-old photo.
Sander crawls so fast and with such determination these days. If he is interrupted he is not too pleased. The funny thing is I don't even know which fall or bonk caused his black eye. The little guy is fearless. I believe part of it is that he wants to keep up with Lucy.
Lucy enjoys reading to Sander.
Sander tries to get at the pages, he gets excited by all the animals.
She really enjoys being able to do things for Sander.
We went to visit Uncle Chris in Boston for a few days while Dada stayed behind to get some work done. It was a lot of fun. The car ride actually went really well and I had a relaxing trip down there with happy kids in the back seat, amazing.
Waiting for Uncle Chris to get home!
At the Rox Diner
Sander's first time on a swing. He loved it!
Lucy is in the background way up in the air.
Swinging is so much fun.
Lucy drew a portrait of Sander on the fridge at home.
We had a much needed family day together a few days later and we all went swimming. Sander had SO much fun. This baby is definitely not afraid of the water!
It's hard to fit in ski days when one has an infant and a 3.5 year old! Lucy is almost able to ski with us at this point but little man, he needs to be watched by someone if mom and dad want to go out and play. In the meantime Matt and I trade off skiing while Sander hangs in the lodge at Stowe with one of us. It's working well for us and he enjoys riding the Over Easy gondola once in a while.
First time "skiing" and luckily mama stayed upright even on the ice!
One afternoon we went out for a classic ski so he could actually ride with us. Mama was honored to carry Sander for the first time while on skis. He enjoyed it! We went on a short ski up the Notch Rd but due to ice and an under the weather Lucy we turned around earlier than planned. It still felt great to get out though!
This little guy weighs in at a whopping 13 pounds 4 ounces! He's such a little peanut.
Full of smiles, grunts, drools and cuteness, Sander melts our hearts.
Speaking of hearts, he tugs on mine every time he says "mama" which is his latest new skill.
At seven months Sander is combat crawling and rolling everywhere...and he gets into everything. Everything then goes into his mouth.
Mama and Sander take a break while watching Lucy play in the snow.
Lucy and Sander's first time sledding together.
weeeeeeee!
At the bottom of the hill. Canute was very excited.
Sander likes to inspect food, suck on it, smear it around, and sometimes eat it. In a desperate attempt to enjoy and relax while eating my own steak dinner with both arms free, I handed Sander a big strip of porterhouse steak. He was al over it! Needless to say this kept our little guy busy and happy during dinner and beyond.
Checking out the steak.
Check out the two finger technique!
Here are a couple of videos taken the morning of Sander's seventh month. It is hard to get solo videos so he can show his stuff but I have to say, it is so precious to watch videos of both Lucy and Sander together.
Chris visited for the weekend and we had some gorgeous weather for a hike up to Taylor's Lodge near Nebraska Notch and the Long Trail. We all enjoyed it very much. It was so nice to have quality time with Chris as we've all had such a busy life since Sander was born and had missed his company.
Me and my babies.
Us minus Lucy who ran out of the photo.
Lucy strikes a pose for Uncle Chris to take her picture. Too cute.
